A number of grips exist for instructing a user on how to properly grip a baseball bat, golf club, tennis racket, or other similar such sporting equipment.
Grips specifically configured for instructing an individual as to how to properly grasp the equipment are generally known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,353 to Blount discloses a baseball bat grip that encourages a user of the grip to maintain a proper grip throughout the entire swing of the baseball bat. The grip includes a pair of protrusions that are secured between a V-shaped opening between the user's index finger and thumb on each hand. The grip further includes certain ridges and valleys configured to receive the user's fingers to further maintain an appropriate grip.
Such grips suffer from a number of disadvantages. In particular, these grips do not properly instruct a user on how to position the baseball bat such that when the user swings the baseball bat, the so-called trademark portion of the bat is positioned correctly with respect to the user's hands and with respect to the batted ball. Further, the grip of the '353 patent suffers other disadvantages, namely, the V-shaped openings formed by the protrusions result in a grip that rests too deeply into the user's hand, thus requiring that the user control the bat with the palm of the user's hand instead of the fingers of the user's hand. Further, the ridges and valleys do not conform to the user's hand or instruct the user on where to position each of the user's respective fingers on the baseball bat. In addition, the '353 patent is configured to instruct a user on how to achieve a “knocked knuckles” grip throughout the swing. Such a “knocked knuckles” grip, however, is can be disadvantageous because the “knocked knuckles” grip significantly reduces a user's ability to securely grasp the baseball bat and swing the bat in a controlled, powerful manner.
A number of other training aids exist for instructing a user on the proper way in which to grasp a piece of sporting equipment. For example, gloves that have visual indicators for instructing an individual on the proper way in which to hold a baseball bat or golf club are well known in the art. However, while such devices provide an individual with a visual guide or indication as to the proper setup position of the user's hands, such devices do not provide the individual with feedback as to whether the appropriate hand positioning is maintained during the actual swinging or use of the sporting equipment, and thus, such devices do not promote the teaching of proper muscle memory.
Finally, certain training aids, including grips for sporting equipment, cannot be easily installed on the sporting equipment due to the shape of such equipment. Specifically, a baseball bat typically includes a knob at a first end, a barrel at a second end, and a handle portion between the knob and the barrel. The user grips the baseball bat at the handle portion, and as such training aids for teaching and promoting proper grip are installed on the handle portion. The knob and barrel, however, are typically larger in diameter than the handle portion. Thus, installing a grip known in the art is difficult, as the grip must be stretched over the knob, yet retain a tight fit to the handle portion.
Thus, there exists a need to provide a sports grip that overcomes the aforementioned problems.